Blackened Rose
by Zaantic
Summary: There's a new group of Strigoi terrorizing Moroi- and they have dhampirs. In an attempt to put an end to this group, Rose finds herself in a situation she can't get out of. What happens when Rose's entire life is turned around, and she meets a fate much worse than death? (( Not many chapters, and P.O.V's switch. ))
1. Chicago, Here We Go

There had been a Strigoi attack. Royal Court guardians were scurrying left and righf, and the panic was radiating in the room. They all rushed into the court room, and I stood waiting for Lissa who was equally, if not more panicked. She had worn business attire, a beige business top with a black tie, black vest, and black pants. She pulled hsr blonde hair into a ponytail and immediately walked out, and I trailed after her. "So you're telling me there's an allegiance of Strigoi who's attacking every Moroi housing they can reach?" The thought of it boggled my mind. She gave me a quick glance and looked away again, her head up high. "Rose, I understand you're concerned" More than concerned, afraid actually. "But like I said, I will explain everything when we get there." I hated the thought of waiting. I was the queen's guardian! Her best friend! Despite my protests, I kept silent until we reached the court room.

When we got there, the room immediately hushed. I spotted Dimitri standing next to Christian, who was ready with the others on the board. Lissa sat down and I stood next to Dimitri, brushing my hand against his as I surveyed the room. He gave me a quick smile before he switched back to his fierce mode and looked around the room as well. "Do you know anything?" I asked him, not averting my eyes. "Lissa isn't telling me anything and it's kind of pissing me off." I huffed and he squeezed my hand before saying, "I'm sure it's nothing to be impatient about, Roza." His voice was so gentle that it calmed me down a bit.

"Good people of the Royal Court." Lissa began. "Please calm down as I address the problem at hand and we together will come up with solutions to put an end to our panic." I saw people in the crown straighten up and some relax, and yet the tension was still radiating, I didn't need to be able to see aura's to know that. There was many Moroi who had come as well. "Recently, there has been a Strigoi attack." As she looked down at the paper in hand, I could see her stiffen. "There is a group of century or more old Strigoi who are killing every Moroi they are able to come by, on a path from Missouri to Illinois." She paused, and then continued. "We have reason to believe they are targeting the Royal Court." That statement by itself raised lots of whispers and panic. "No guardians are able to stop them, because it is not only Strigoi who are in the group." Even I was curious now, because humans couldn't have possibly been able to hold up guardians. Maybe if they were coming at them with a knife, but it's unlikely. Guardians were highly trained and probably would have thrown any human across the room with ease. That's why I froze when she said the next statement. "There are humans with them... and dhampirs too."

There was widespread panic and anger across the crowd. _Dhampirs?_ Even the guardians standing side by side with us seemed taken aback and shocked, and I was completely aghast. Why? We're trained to protect Moroi, not kill them. I was filled with rage. It couldn't be. If you were a dhampir, you either became a guardian, or a blood whore. You could probably not become either and just disconnect yourself from vampire life, but that was it. Dhampirs were not Strigoi slaves. The council leader banged a gavel against the wooden table, and the crowd slowly became silent. "If you doubt this, we have several surviving witnesses who said they were able to spot at least 5 dhampirs and humans." She added. No one made a sound, but there was fear and anger and disbelief plastered on everyone's faces. Lissa looked back at me and I gave her a small nod. She then continued. "We can't afford anymore Moroi deaths. I, as your queen, want to protect everyone and not just this court." She was brave, and I admired that. "So I want to put a stop to them before they can shed more of our blood." I glanced up at Dimitri, who had that ever so familiar fierce look in his eyes, except it was a bit harder this time. I could see curiosity and His expression somewhat softened at the sight of me, and it was probably because I didn't do much of a good job at hiding my anxiousness. He laced his fingers with mine and looked back at Lissa.

Lissa set down the paper and spoke louder and more confidently this time. "We are sending out troops to help stop them. According to the witnesses, there should be at least 30 Strigoi, 10 Dhampirs, and 10 humans. By tonight, we are going to send 40 of our finest guardians, along with specially trained Moroi." I knew about the "specially trained moroi" After becoming queen and the news of her spirit magic becoming widespread over the Moroi world, many have identified as spirit users. Lissa had made an announcement a very long time ago about opening up training for Moroi who wanted to fight alongside Guardians when they are needed. Many of these had been fire users, but when the news about a Strigoi turning back with spirit magic and Mia being able to suffocate a Strigoi with water in Spokane, many spirit and water users had also applied. Soon enough, we had well over 200 Moroi who were training and becoming as good as the Guardians. Lissa also had every vampire school provide special classes for Moroi who wanted to train. However, they aren't needed unless there's an emergency. "The specially trained Moroi spirit users will wield spirit stakes to hopefully turn back some of their forces, so we can take them back here and hold them in custody. The rest will serve as backup and help." Some of the people in the crowd nodded, some shaking their head. The Moroi fighting along with Guardians dispute was still going on, but it didn't really matter. "We will have to take many assigned guardians as well, but in light of this, we were able to get more Guardians to guard the perimeter of the court buildings and keep on stakeout watch." Lots of dispute was going on now, and the council hitting the gavel again and dismissing the crowd made it louder. I let go of Dimitri's hand and ran to Lissa.

"You couldn't have just told me all this when I asked?" I asked her. "Rose, you're so impatient. Plus I still had a hard time believing it myself." We walked out of the Courtroom and back to her office room which was adjacent to the courtroom. We spent the rest of the day arranging plans and timing until it was time to leave. There were 8 black SUV's parked outside the court, with some cars pulling in and Guardians getting out. Dimitri and I were driving the lead car, and by 8 PM all the cars were loaded and we began driving towards Illinois. I was excited and yet fearful, what was I about to take on? 30 century old Strigoi and some of my own kind? It was all a blur to me but our roles in this mission were very clear and thorough. I kept my mind clear and kept on taking sips of coffee that Dimitri was able to grab before we left. "Just another day in the life of totally normal girl Rose Hathaway," I groaned. Dimitri grinned and grabbed the coffee from my hands before I could take another sip, and he began drinking some. "Didn't we get past the point of complaining?" He asked. He was right. But sometimes it just irks me that most other 19 year old girls would be attending college right now, going shopping and going to the beach. Instead, here I am, fighting for my race's life against evil immortal vampires and hoping I'll make it out alive.

After a miserable long day of driving, we reached Chicago, where we all parked our SUV's in different clubs and met up at a secluded Moroi headquarters. We gathered and talked about where we would find the group, how we would attack, simple Guardian things. We stayed in the Moroi headquarters overnight, which was pretty big. They had many, many rooms and Dimitri and I shared one. For a secluded headquarters, it didn't seem like anything I thought it would. There were soft light brown carpets in each room and each bed was a queen size. Hallways were plain white with glossy dark wood flooring, and some paintings hung up randomly. Most of them were simplistic Moroi paintings, of things like the elemental magics, a silver stake, and so on. In the central room where there was a head desk and plush brown couches, they had huge portraits of the Moroi kings and queens from the past to present, Lissa sitting in middle. I stared at it for a while, until I realized what time it was. I wasn't exactly exhausted, but I didn't care. I head to the room Dimitri and I chose and closed the door behind me, sinking to the ground. I sighed. Life was so unfair.


	2. Thriller Love

**Fair warning! I rated this M for a reason! No it is not _lemon,_ it's smut.**

Well, yeah, life _was_ unfair at times. But really? I got over it immediately when I saw Dimitri. A couple years ago, if someone told me I would be madly in love with the foreign guy who was chosen to be Lissa's Guardian and was going to mentor me because I had run away from the academy, I would've told them they were crazy. It was kind of funny. People always said he was a god. He was a god in many ways, in fighting strigoi, and in bed.

He was shirtless and asleep, I think. His back was facing me and he seemed to be peaceful so I assumed he was sleeping. I took this as an opportunity to quickly strip, revealing my black lingerie. I unclipped my hair and let it fall behind my shoulders as I quietly climbed into the bed and creeped up behind him. I spent about 15 minutes admiring him, his built body and beautiful shoulder-length hair. He smelt like aftershave, the same one he used everytime. It still blew me away. I then slid my arms around him and wrapped a leg around him, fully embracing him and planting a sloppy kiss on his neck.

He woke up, but I didn't notice until he quickly turned over and briefly pressed him lips against mine. He pulled back. "Roza.." he mumbled. "What do you want?" He gazed at me with those eyes that had so much intensity I felt as though my heart would stop. "To take my mind off things.." I said seductively as I ran my fingers across his chest. I could see lust in his eyes but he had much more self control than me. "We can't. We're here on a mission." He said bluntly, playing with a lock of my hair. "Can't we have a little fun?" I breathed, our faces only centimeters apart. No matter how official we were, I was always crazy about him. Even when our lips were so close, it still had that same strong feeling as it did that night in the cabin.

After a few moments of silence, he finally cracked. Our lips crushed together with a force that took my breath away. One hand was pushing back my hair and the other clutching my thigh. I felt breathless as we kissed hungrily and he climbed on top of me, kissing my neck down to my collarbone. I moaned softly, careful not to be loud. He unhooked my bra and then kissed my neck again before he met my lips with passion, flinging the bra across the room. Our tongues locked and he snaked an arm around my waist to pull me closer. Our bodies were entertwined and I ran my fingers through his hair, wrapping my legs around him. I pushed him against the bed, kissing his jawline down to his neck. He grunted, and I kissed with more force, continuing to pin him down on the bed. I kissed down to his v-line, and I could hear him take a breath in anticipation. I then got up and sat on top of him, giving him a sly smile.

He was breathing heavily. "You're right, comrade." I said after taking a few breaths. "We can't. We mustn't compromise our mission." I layed back down and there was disappointment written all over his face. I couldn't help but laugh. He laughed too, lifting me up on top of him. Our noses and foreheads touched and our bodies were glued to eachother as he gripped me by my ass. "You devastate me," he said before we kissed, and kept kissing for a couple of minutes that seemed to go by so quick. I leaned next to his ear and whispered, "You have no idea how badly I want you to make me scream right now." "Mmm.. maybe another day, Roza" he said before leaving a trail of kisses down my neck.

I looked at him with a sad face, and it wasnt because we couldn't have sex. "What's wrong?" he asked, his eyes full of lust transforming to concern. "The mission.." I said, my wrods dragging off as I thought of horrible scenarios. My mood immediately plummeted. "Tell me what's wrong." he demanded. "The last time we had a situation like this, it was back in the academy." I said, sadness in my voice. His concern was now mixed with grief, remembering when he was dragged away that night, forcibly turned Strigoi. "What if..." I paused, choking on my own air. I tried again. "What if something bad happens?" Tears began to well up in my eyes as I remembered what had happened. How scattered I'd been when Mason had told me he was a Strigoi. I never wanted that, ever again. He held me close to his chest and stroked my hair, whispering, "We will get through this, I promise you. I won't let anything happen to you, Roza." And then I felt safe, I fell asleep there, on his chest.

But it wasn't for a while. I woke up with Dimitri shaking me, and lots of commotion outside. "Rose, rose.." he kept saying. "Wake up, there's been an attack. We have to go now." I immediately threw off the covers and got dressed, pulling my hair up as we walked out the door. I heard someone shouting from the side. "The attack was in the west border of Chicago! Everyone load the SUV's and block them from all directions!" In a flash, we were on the road. Directions were being given to all cars from a few who stayed at the headquarters. Beautiful buildings passed by us, and I was envious of couples who were able to go to restaraunts and do things without having to worry about evil vampires attacking them. Dimitri obviously saw my envy, and he traced the edge of my cheekbone with this finger. "Another day." he said simply, and I redirected my attention back to the mission.

We finally arrived, and we were careful not to make any kind of noise. The darkness encircled us, but most of us could see clearly. The rest managed. One group was sizing the building, some roaming around the outskirts. After rendering it clear, we counted to 3 before busting in the door and windows with all groups. Sure enough, there they were. There were a couple of dhampirs and humans weilding weapons like knives and guns. We could hear screaming from the top. No hesitation was allowed, and we immediately plunged into war. I bolted upstairs to fight the bigger threat, as some magic users and other guardians fought off and captured the dhampirs and humans. When I reached the second floor, I felt like throwing up. There were so many bodies scattered on the floor, blood everywhere. I held my hand against my mouth and blinked back tears. I couldn't take the sight anymore and I ran downstairs.

The dhampirs and humans were tied up, sitting on the floor with savage looks in their faces. Dimitri was among those who were interrogating them. "Where are the Strigoi?" one of them yelled. A dhampir girl replied with hysteric laughter before answering, "As if we'd tell you." "Fucking puppets." another guy sneered. "I said, where are they!" the guardian demanded again. "Why do you care so much?" A quiet voice came from near by. It was a human girl. "You do realize that they're only using you, right?" It was Dimitri who spoke this time. "They're ready to throw away your life any second without thinking twice." There was intensity to his voice, something you couldn't ignore. "They'll never give you what you want." "B-but.." the human girl stuttered. "They went in the direction of the forest. There's a few cabins there where they were going to take refuge in until tomorrow night." A human guy said. He was obviously conflicted saying this, but he was brave.

And off we went to go catch the culprit.


	3. Taken Away

A few guardians stayed back at the crime scene to analyze who was attacked and keep watch over the captives. The rest of us went in the direction of the Strigoi, who were supposedly taking refuge in a few dark cabins inside the woods. The terrain was rocky and ragged, and we had to be careful to avoid any twigs, though it wouldn't have made much of a difference. Every once in a while, the image of the scattered bodies began to play in my mind and it empowered me, knowing who did this, and we had to kill every last one of them. Or at least, I did.

I was breathing rapidly, but I kept my mind clear. We plunged deeper into the black forest, the sunrise giving some kind of substantial light for others who couldn't see well. The Strigoi couldn't escape the cabins at this point, which meant they couldn't get far. As I thought about it more, the records had said that there were lots of dhampirs and humans. Back there, there had been only been 10. Which meant that they left behind the weak ones to do god knows what, and they took the stronger ones with them. So that meant that they did have some forces to attack us with outside the cabins...

As I came to that conclusion, which I'm sure many other people had, 2 dhampirs jumped out of nearby bushes with knives. They attacked 2 guardians and a moroi magic user in the middle, but the guardians were able to kick the knife out of the dhampirs hand and knock them out. The magic user, who specialized in fire, dodged the other dhampir's swing and set his arm on fire. The man fell to the ground, clutching his arm as he tried for another swing. The moroi girl had been too focused on her magic to see it coming, and he was able to get a cut on her cheek. She punched him and he fell to the ground, unconscious. The guardians had tried to see her wound but she pushed them away, saying "I signed up for this. I shouldn't expect any less."

This ambush gave a perfect distraction for the next. Three humans jumped off of the trees in front of our group, two with swords and one with a gun. Dimitri immediately reached for his gun and shot the humans arm, causing him to lose his grip on the gun. He then lunged for him, trying to take the gun from him and detain him. I, meanwhile, dodged the two human's attacks and managed to seize one girl, while the other boy was being surrounded with water, which covered the sword he had been holding and threw it to the ground. The water then circled his head and began to suffocate him as two other guardians knocked him out. Water magic.

We moved faster towards what looked like a house. As we got closer, there were multiple, made out of log and they were pretty tiny. The windows were blacked out, and we knew we hit jackpot. Two groups circled the houses, rendering it clear before we blocked all means of entry and immediately busted in. Then chaos had started. None of us had even waited a nanosecond before we plunged and began to fight the targets in front of us.

Everything was a blur. I heard glass shattering and felt lots of heat as fire was being thrown and caught all around me. I heard screams of agony and watched as bodies dropped to the floor, one by one. Whether they were Strigoi, Guardians, or Moroi, I couldn't tell. All I focused on was killing the enemy. _The ones who killed all those people..._ I whispered to myself as I remembered that image. The occasional flash of light and sobbing occured around me, which meant we had saved many people. I was so focused on the sensory around me that I hadn't noticed the Strigoi in front of me hit me like a fly, sending me flying out the window.

I landed on my back, in extreme pain. I forced myself to get up regardless, and I staggered in my step. My head was whirring as my eyes tried to focus. I saw a tall figure jump in front of me and immediately take out the Strigoi that was advancing. I managed a weak smile as I knew who that tall figure was, and I was finally able to focus my eyes and get back into action. I helped Dimitri stake the Strigoi that had attacked me, and we parted ways to fight others. One came at me from my left and I dodged, managing to grab him and stake him in the chest with ease. He was obviously new. Another came at me from my back and I fell to the ground as he punched my shoulder with such a great force it hurt badly. I got up without thinking and turned around. He attempted another hit. I moved to the side and seized his arm, trying to stake him while he was open, but he had however caught me. He grabbed my shoulder and tilted my neck as he tried to bring his mouth closer, but then he caught on fire.

He let go of me and began to scream. The fire encircled him and fell to his knees, trying to get it off of him. I looked up at a fire user, who was focusing all his energy on keeping the fire. I took the opportunity to stake the Strigoi, and he fell as the flames dissolved. I gave the fire user a nod of a thank you, and he nodded too. I continued staking. I'm not sure how many Strigoi I took down, but at this point I wasn't aware of my surroundings. It was just me and my target as I took them down one by one with no hesitation.

Pain from earlier injuries finally caught up to me and I decided to go help other guardians with the restored people and the dhampir and human captives. We rallied them into some of the SUV's, and gave some comfort to the restored souls. I looked back at the forest and there were still some Guardians and Moroi fighting a small group of Strigoi. I ran over to Dimitri who was fighting two Strigoi on his own and decided to help him. I creeped behind the Strigoi in front of Dimitri and I think he realized I was behind him. He swung his hand behind him, aiming for me, and I grabbed it and twisted it. He flinched and I tried to Stake him as he swung for me again. I ended up being flung against a tree. I aimed for him again, but he was gone once I got up.

I watched as Dimitri finished off his target in a lethal dance. He took my breath away, or maybe it was me beginning to pass out. I wasn't sure. My eyes were drooping before I felt a hand swung around me and pull me close. "Roza... Stay awake." his warm voice whispered as he helped me up. I felt his hand pull my hair from my face as he sat me down near a tree. "Stay here." he said before he walked toward the SUV's, helping them get the captives in and talking to other Guardians. I smiled weakly and tried to steady my breathing. I took seriously hard hits from them, they were so strong..

I wasn't sure what happened soon after, but I woke up in a flash as a strong hand seized my shoulder. I was about to say Dimitri, but there was a different feeling to this hand.. It was cold, and the way it seized my shoulder was as if it wanted to prevent me from moving. It succeeded. I tried to say something but before I could it lifted me up with such extreme force I felt as if my arm was going to be dislocated from my body. I managed to glance at the face, and it was the same Strigoi I had failed to kill not too long ago. I opened my mouth to scream and tried reaching for my stake, but it was too late. The other hand tilted my head and it dug its fangs in my neck. I managed to whisper something, but it was barely audible. "No..." The endorphins filled me in such a drug-filled haze I didn't even understand what was happening.

The sweet, bliss feeling transformed into excruciating pain. I let out a bloodcurdling scream as I tried to pull away. I was completely helpless, unable to move any of my limbs. In front of my bleary eyes I could see a tall figure immediately get up and run towards me, yelling something I couldn't understand. He ran at a pace that was so fast, you'd think he was a god. My vision blurred even more, and I could only feel my heels drag against the soft brown soil as I watched the figure get distant, but it kept getting caught up. Soon, my 5 senses were on full alert but I was still in the most pain anyone could be in as I felt the blood retreat from my veins all the way up to my neck. "Dimitri!" I screamed so loud, but I choked. "Rose! Rose no! Rose!" he was yelling, tears streaking his face. I was sobbing, knowing exactly what was happening now. I didn't want to leave him. "Dimitri! No!" Soon, I couldn't feel anything at all. My heart ached. But not because I was almost dead, it was because I was leaving him. I was being ripped from his arms. I took my last breath, whispering so quietly, _Dimitri..._

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 ** _Yeah.. I'm horrible. Sorry guys. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, considering my other one's were short and didn't have the cliffhanger of a lifetime as I tried to make this one have. I'm going to try to update soon, but I have midterms starting tomorrow so it's not a promise I'm willing to make. I will try my best to write between study sessions however, so that's good, I guess. See you guys later!_**


	4. Broken

\- **Dimitri P.O.V**

I still remember that day vividly. I remember how fast I ran. How hard my grip on the stake felt to the point where the silver would've become lethal even to me. I remember the look of horror on her face. The tears that had streaked her beautiful cheeks as she cried my name. Her face when she took her last breath. I remember how I had ran so far into the dark forest after her, whispering her name over and over as I choked on my own air. How lost I'd been after that. There was no point to anything.

Each morning I would wake up, breathing heavily from constant nightmares. I would roll over, hoping to see her, sleeping peacefully. Instead, I saw an empty place in the bed where she was supposed to be. I had empty bottles of liquor standing on my dresser, some broken on the floor from my occasional anger outbursts. Adrian had refused to drink, claiming no amount of liquor would numb the pain. He was right. I had broken my promise.. I broke my promise.. _We will get through this, I promise you. I won't let anything happen to you, Roza._

I smashed another bottle on the floor, yelling in frustration. I curled up, sobbing quietly, unable to shed any real tears. It had been 2 weeks ago. I could've saved her. I could have. If I hadn't left her there. If I had been faster. If I had killed off that asshole Strigoi when I had the chance. So many ways I could have saved her. I got up and decided to write her an e-mail. Opening my e-mail, I looked for Rose's contact. I opened the blank page and began typing. I had no idea what I had been typing. I kept writing some things over and over and daily updates of how much pain I'd been in. I sent it, never knowing if she'll ever get them. I had already sent 15 to her over the course of 2 weeks and yet no amount of words would explain the storm inside.

I stepped in the shower, and curled up in the corner as I felt the hot water soak me. I occasionally turned it up too high, but I never complained. I saw it as punishment. For being weak, not being able to save her. And I took as much punishment as I could get. I remember how she would stand in this large cubicle with me. How our lips felt together under the warm running water. How she gazed into my eyes as though in wonder. I had now realized how painful this cubicle was without her and I immediately staggered out of the shower, even if I had only been there for a minute.

As I ran the towel against my head I stared into the mirror. My eyes were bloodshot, and I didn't shave since then. To think the young, reckless girl that I had mentored back in Montana would now be the one to truly devestate me was something I wouldn't have believed back then. The worst part was, I didn't know if she was dead or undead. I watched the life flee from her eyes before she was dragged far into the forest. I selfishly wished that she had been turned. So I could have the chance to see her again, to save her, to bring her back into my arms. I kept reminding myself that I would never want her to go through the pain of being Strigoi. And yet, I loved her. And I hoped that there was always the slightest chance to be with her.

But I realized if she were Strigoi, she would've contacted me. She would've sent something, to let me know..

I put on the duster I wore from when me and Rose were fugitives. I held my nose against it and tried to bring back the distant smell of her. Rose had always had this special scent I could never pinpoint. Whether it was shampoo or lotion, I didn't care. It always reminded me of her. A tear escaped my eye and I quickly wiped it away before leaving through the back door of the room, to the garden. It was huge. A hedge maze basically, but not tall. There were all types of flowers lining the hedges, and in the middle there were blood red roses. Lissa recently ordered to have them planted, to preserve the memory of Rose. It always tormented me. Each day I visited here I felt like ripping the roses out of the dirt. It didn't remind me of her. It reminded me of how I failed to protect her.

And yet, despite this internal conflict, I sat here every day for hours until the sun went up, stroking the roses until I heard footsteps behind me, and I didn't have to turn to know who it was. "What?" I asked, my voice hoarse. "You've been like this for way too long." Lissa replied. I was somewhat angered at this statement, and I got up. "Oh. Sorry. It seems that my love for her was misplaced." I said sarcastically, which even I was shocked at, because I was never sarcastic. I must've gotten something from Rose. Rose... "You know that's not what I mean." She was alone, wearing black dress clothes. It was the first time I saw her without guards. "Why aren't you grieving? Wasn't she your life long best friend? How come you're not worse than me?" I asked. I was gravely confused and pissed off. How could she act so casual? How could she if Rose was gone?

"You don't think I cry every night? You don't think that I try so hard to hide the pain each day?" She was mad now too. She looked as if she was about to say more, but she paused and took a breath. "I may have been her best friend. But I'm also the Moroi queen. The council and the rest of the government officials don't give a shit about my despair, and I have the same amount of responsibilities, if not more, than I did not too long ago." My anger fell, and I was just numb for the moment. I felt bad for her. Despite the fact her best friend is most likely dead, no one is giving her a break. Here I am, on break presented to me by her. I shouldn't be mad at her.

After a few moments of silence, she slowly brought her eyes to face me. "Would you like to join me for tea?" She wiped her tears and straightened up. I hesitated, honestly wanting to snap at her for being so inconsiderate. Instead, I nodded. We arrived back at her french doors, and the guards that were standing there immediately relaxed and seemed relieved. They opened the doors for us and I stepped inside. The room was so much bigger than Rose and I's rooms, but it had the same red, gold, and beige color palette. She beckoned me to the dining room, where tea was already set on a small coffee table with two velvet recliners stationed on both sides of it. I sat myself in one and she poured two cup.

"She was really selfless, you know." Lissa set down her cup, her gaze looking off into a far away place. "Rose. She said she'd rather die than let you become Strigoi again." She gave a weak smile. "Yeah, well I guess she was right." The word "die" and "strigoi" ran threw my mind a million times until she spoke up again. "When I said that you've been like that, I didn't mean to criticize you for your grieving." She looked at me with a straight face and continued. "You have to stop blaming yourself for what happened to her."

"Why?"

"Because it wasn't your fault!"

"How do you know that!"

I was angry. Of course it was my fault! I let her fall right through my fingers! I promised her safety and I watched her die right in front of me! "Because you love her. You tried your best to save her and you know that she would never blame you!" I was standing now, stunned and full of rage. "I watched her die, Lissa. She was dragged off in the forest because of my inability to protect her." I walked towards the door and she spoke up again. "I still have hope." I turned to look at her, my hand still on the door knob. "What?" "I don't think she's dead. What if she's a Strigoi? Doesn't that give us a chance? To bring her back? Don't you have hope for that too? That's why I'm not grieving as much! I don't believe she's dead! She can't be!" Her voice was shaking, tears running down her face. I was conflicted. Of course she'd be like this. Rose died. She's in denial. I kept telling myself that before I left with only a few words, "I would never hope for Rose to become a monster like that."

I head back to my room, by the royal guardian dormitories. I hadn't had coffee since then, and decided it wouldn't hurt. Lissa's words woke me up. Or, shocked me. I'm not sure how I felt about it. As I sat on the bed and turned tables in my mind, I noticed a notification on my computer. I was curious as to who would contact me in my state, so I opened it. I immediately dropped my newly made coffee, which spilled across the rug. Good thing it was beige.

[Rose Hathaway: No Subject]

With little regard to the spilled coffee, I opened the email without hesitation. My mind was spinning and I felt my eyes blur. But I focused them on the message.

"Why so down comrade? Turns out, I'm still alive! Ok well, not alive. Better than alive, really. Undead."

I felt myself choking on tears, and I continued to read the rest of the message.

"Really, you shouldn't beat yourself up for what happened that day. I honestly thank you. Being awakened, it's amazing. But I didn't e-mail you to talk about the beauty of something you already experienced. I just wanted to ease your suffering. I miss you, but I can't risk you knowing where I am. I know you'd try to take this away from me the moment you see me. And you BETTER not try to find me. That's a warning."

This changed everything. The immediate emotions I felt in that point of time were happiness and relief. Until what I really had read sinked in.

Rose was a Strigoi.


End file.
